Australia’s Pilbara Minerals is lining up to acquire Patriot Battery Metals, as global demand for EVs and big batteries steps up.
Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) is a serious Australian fairytale story. The once-penny stock has soared to a A$15 Billion valuation in just a few years, on the back of a scramble by car makers for lithium metals.
Patriot Battery Metals owns significant lithium holdings in NE Canada, a strategic location that would feed North America’s booming EV manufacturing hubs.
The AFR reports that Macquarie Capital is taking the Pilbara management through a data room to investigate Patriot Battery Metals.
While the deal is far from done, the ambitions of Pilbara Minerals to become a global battery metals player are well known.
Patriot, (ASX: PMT) holds significant tenements at its Corvette project in Quebec, Canada.
The company was today in a trading halt pending an announcement.
According to the Australian Financial Review, shares in Patriot on the Toronto Stock Exchange, have more than doubled since December 2022, up 118 per cent. It listed its securities on the ASX in December at 60¢ each. The company now has a market capitalisation of more than A$2 billion.
Patriot has strong ties to Pilbara Minerals, with the new Chairman of PMT, Ken Brinsden, formally part of the PLS management team.
In a release earlier this year, the company said drilling had confirmed significant lithium grades in the James Bay area of Quebec:
The company reports extensions of the ‘high-grade’ Nova Zone include, drillhole CV23-105 with 83.7m @ 3.13% lithium oxide (Li2O), including 19.8m @ 5.28% Li2O and 5.1m @ 5.17% Li2O; CV23-106 with 132.2m @ 1.22% Li2O, including 11.2m @ 2.99% Li2O and 6.0m @ 2.92% Li2O.
Additionally, the company reports further ‘significant’ intercepts include drillhole CV23-110 with 85m @ 1.04% Li2O, including 39.4m @ 1.51% Li2O; CV23-115 with 22.6m @ 2.13% Li2O, including 6.5m @ 3.44% Li2O; and CV23-116 with 23.8m @ 1.61% Li2O.
Pilbara Minerals is up 120% in 12-months on the ASX rose to $5 a share Monday trade July 10th.
The Australian mining company has focused on developing its Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project in Western Australia, one of the world’s largest lithium ore deposits.
As more and more countries aim to reduce their carbon footprints by transitioning to cleaner forms of energy, it’s likely that demand for lithium and other battery metals will only continue to grow.
